Since their debut in 2007’s Lorwyn, planeswalkers have been, for better or worse, the heart and soul of MTG. Not only were they mechanically interesting and powerful cards, but they also portrayed well-realized characters, many of which went on to become icons. Though recent developments have pushed them into the background somewhat, they’re still a vital part of the game. For that reason, Mark Rosewater’s latest posts indicating that changes are coming to the planeswalker card type are particularly interesting, no matter what kind of MTG player you are.
Though we’re now deep in the Holiday season, Rosewater hasn’t neglected his ever-popular Blogatog. Two posts from the past week specifically pertain to planeswalkers, painting a picture of changes that may befall the card type soon. If you’ve been disappointed with ‘walkers over the past year or so, you may want to prick up your ears.
No More Creature ‘Walkers?
The first of these changes was mentioned in a Blogatog post on December 24th, where Rosewater responded to the following question:
“azetsu222: Ever since Gideon died, White didn’t get a Planeswalker that becomes a creature and attacks. Is this mechanic still in in White?
Mark Rosewater: Yes, but it isn’t something easy to balance, so we’ve chosen not to make a new planeswalker with the same issue.”
There’s a fair bit to unpack here. For those unaware, azetsu222 is referring to Gideon Jura, a mono-white planeswalker with eight different incarnations over the years. In each of them Gideon has had the ability to turn into a creature, either automatically on your turn or via a Loyalty ability.
Sadly Gideon met a tragic end during the events of War of the Spark, sacrificing himself to defeat Nicol Bolas. Magic often plays it fast and loose with the concept of death, just ask Elspeth. Gideon hasn’t appeared on a new card since, however, so its safe to assume he’s capital-D dead for now.
As Rosewater notes above, Gideon’s signature creature-shifting mechanic is a bit of a balance nightmare. For that reason, Wizards has chosen not to create a new planeswalker with the same ability to replace Gideon now that he’s gone.
What does that mean for us? Well, it means we’ll see a lot less planeswalkers that can become creatures for a start. Azetsu222’s question was specifically geared towards white, but there’s really not much of this going on elsewhere. Sarkhan occasionally gets to become a Dragon, but really it was Gideon holding down the fort here. With him gone, we’re very unlikely to see much more of it.
That said, it’s not gone completely. Just a few sets ago, in Duskmourn, we got a new Kaito that becomes a creature on your turn. You can even Ninjutsu it in and attack immediately, an interaction that feels complex even compared to Gideon. Clearly there’s still room for this sort of thing in the game, just not as regularly as before.
Make It Mono
The second of Rosewater’s festive MTG planeswalker changes was revealed in a post on December 25th of all days. In it, he responded to another question from azetsu222, this time regarding color identity.
“azetsu222: Can we get more mono color Planeswalker? Having only 1 per set and them being mostly two colors really limits the decks they can fit into
Mark Rosewater: We’re working on that issue.”
azetsu222 makes a good point here. Since the switch to one planeswalker per set in Wilds of Eldraine, the volume of new ‘walkers coming into the game has gone down drastically. Of the seven new planeswalkers we’ve seen since then, five have been two-color, while just two have been mono-color.
Two-color planeswalkers, by their very nature, fit into less decks than mono-color ones. With a lot less planeswalkers overall, this means that a lot less Standard decks in general are able to effectively run them. This is a crying shame, and a problem well worth addressing.
Of course, there are five elephants in the room: the five mono-color Foundations planeswalkers. With those in the mix, there have actually been more mono-color planeswalkers than two-color since Wilds of Eldraine. While this seems like a good pre-emptive countermeasure to azetsu222’s problem, there are a couple of reasons it’s actually not.
First of all, Foundations is planned as the only core set for the next five years at least, so we won’t see an injection like this for a while. Over time, if things follow the same trajectory, the problem will re-emerge. Second, the Foundations planeswalkers are, in classic core set fashion, weaker than those you’d find in a typical Standard set.
Never fear, however. Rosewater’s response here heavily implies that more mono-colored planeswalkers are planned, likely in the next few years. Of course the solution they’re “working on” may be more of a roundabout approach, involving hybrid mana or somesuch, but in any case I expect it’ll lead to more planeswalkers being playable in Standard, which is always good.
Tactical Moves
Both of these changes to the planeswalker card type make perfect sense for MTG. The change to fewer planeswalkers per set was intended to combat fatigue with the card type after War of the Spark, but a consequence of that has been far fewer planeswalkers seeing Standard play. Shifting them to mono-color is a great way to address that.
Similarly, cutting the ‘planeswalker as creature’ mechanic for the game is great for complexity. As we move fully into the Foundations era, the new Magic player experience is paramount for Wizards. Cutting a thorny mechanic like this should remove a barrier that may have kept some from enjoying the game.
That said, fans of Magic’s more intricate side needn’t worry too much. Kaito was a fairly complex design, and we’ve already seen a tease of an even more complex one yet to come. In our early glimpses at Aetherdrift, we’ve been shown an outline of The Aetherspark.
This will be the game’s first artifact planeswalker, and more crucially its first Equipment planeswalker. It’s hard to imagine that this card won’t enable the kind of mind-bending rules interactions that will make Gideon look like Savannah Lions. Especially given its status as an important plot MacGuffin and a Headliner card for the set.
With this in mind, the changes Rosewater mentioned seem even more sensible. If you’re pushing the boundaries with cards like The Aetherspark with one hand, the other should be holding things steady for new players. These posts, then, paint a reassuring picture of the future of planeswalkers as a card type. If you love stacking Loyalty and firing off ultimates, there should be plenty for you to enjoy very soon.
